CERTAIN TRAITS HAVE come to define what it means to be an alpha male in American society. In a culture chiefly driven by competition, success is judged not only in terms of results, but how those results are achieved. A successful man has to remain in firm control of his situation at all times—and no one exudes a sense of control more than Don Draper. On Mad Men, he dominates every room, every conversation, and (usually) every person he comes across. His dapper, refined persona easily conceals the whiskey and women swimming around in his head. The practiced stare reveals nothing except a man firmly rooted in confidence.

The character has achieved a sort of folk status in pop culture. Sure, the public has admired characters before, but rarely in such a sweeping, pervasive way. A fictional ad man from a show set in the 1960’s has become an influential style icon and public figure. This is chiefly because the image of the ideal American alpha male remains more or less the same. We expect the truly admirable men to juggle a career, family, and a parade of women without breaking a sweat. Moreover, they’re supposed to do so with sophisticated swagger—smoking a cigarette, sipping a strong drink, and firing off witty one-liners to whoever is lucky enough to be listening. Draper possesses all of these traits in spades.

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